The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for an immediate rent freeze to deal with tenants struggling in the cost-of-living crisis and growing homelessness in the capital. He says that the numbers sleeping rough have risen by 21% over the past year and without government intervention, the progress made in housing homeless people since […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers, will be presenting an overview of several landlord tax strategies at the pin Reading meeting Thursday 1st November. The Reading meeting will be held at The Crowne Plaza Reading, Caversham Bridge, Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8BD Hosted by Simant Soni on the 1st […]

Hello, We let our property to a couple with a baby in 2019, with 90% of their rent paid by the council through a housing benefit. They immediately fell into arrears, not paying the rent at all, so the council told me they would pay the 90% direct to me. Since then the 10% payments […]

Hello, We agreed to be guarantor for our son’s ex-girlfriend as she was having his baby. Subsequently, it has turned out not to be his. My question is, we are now getting to the end of the first year of tenancy and I contacted the agent to say to we will no longer be guarantor […]

The UK’s house prices are set to fall by 5% next year on the back of rising mortgage interest rates, says Zoopla. The platform says the increase in mortgage rates represents the largest interest rate shock for new buyers since the late 1980s. And, despite signs of slowing, mortgage rates will not return to the […]

Would you like your next property acquisition to be a high cash-generating HMO (House of Multiple Occupation), but don’t know how to do it? You should be considering HMOs because they are a recession-proof strategy and also generate high cash flow, which means rising interest rates are not as much of a concern as it […]

Looks like Hallowe’en has come early for landlords with the announcement that Michael Gove has returned to the Government fold. And, for me at least, that’s a huge shame. Because while Gove has a strong reputation for getting things done – he is poised to undo the private rental sector. My big fear is that […]

The number of short-term lets (STLs) has grown steadily in many areas of the UK over the past four years – and could threaten the PRS, a survey reveals. The report from Propertymark highlights that the recent pandemic helped to fuel the rise in short let properties because many people decided to holiday in the […]

The proportion of landlords who are reporting increasing tenant demand has hit an all-time high – for the second time this year. The findings from Paragon Bank found that a net increase in tenant demand during the past three months was seen by 65% of respondents. This surpasses the previous all-time high of 62% recorded […]

A senior minister has confirmed the Government’s intention to introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill in this Parliament – and it could be law by the time this Parliament ends. Andrew Stephenson, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was responding to a question from Labour MP, Matthew […]

So, what do landlords think of this latest initiative? https://www.serco.com/uk/sites/serco-aasc/landlords On the one-hand, the government are berating landlords for the rent levels which are linked to shortages in supply (read – failure by Govt to build), whilst on the other hand, available properties are being scooped up in contract-sized proportions. What effect will that have […]

Hi Property 118, We wondered what your thoughts are. We have recently let a property out to a nurse who doesn’t come from the UK. She’s a bit demanding even wanting her bins emptied and didn’t realise until she was told by the letting agents that she has to put them out for emptying. So […]

Hello. Is it usual for insurance for an empty property (which is up for sale) to only provide cover for subsidence? No cover for malicious damage or escape of water. I’ve been quoted over £600 for one tenanted and one empty property. Seems a bit excessive? Thanks for any advice. Ann

The number of Build-to-Rent (BTR) homes either in planning, under construction or completed in the UK is up by 15%. The figures from the British Property Federation (BPF) cover the period between Q3 2021 and Q3 this year when numbers rose from 209,313 to 240,202. The BPF says that the sector continues to expand across […]

Landlords are calling on Michael Gove to get the planned Rental Reform Bill right for both landlords and tenants. The call comes after Mr Gove was reinstated as the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities secretary by the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. The cabinet minister had previously been fired by Boris Johnson in July. Mr […]

Despite the Government’s best efforts to dampen buy-to-let profitability, the average landlord has not only increased the size of their portfolio but has also boosted their rental income, research reveals. The findings from Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, show that landlords enjoyed an 18% increase in their estimated total rental income. Researchers looked at the […]

There seems to be little doubt that interest rates will only be heading upward in the next few years. If you disagree with this please share your thoughts with me. So, I’ve been running some numbers and scared myself half to death. If interest rates go up another 2% I will not be making any […]

Hello. Our lettings agents found us tenants who stayed a year and then asked to renew for another year. Their contract was renewed for a further year and our agent charged us 8% of ‘incoming rent ‘ for the following year, billing us for the first 6 months of the one year tenancy. After only […]

I was somewhat surprised by Rishi Sunak’s re-appointment of Michael Gove as Housing Secretary late yesterday. After all, it’s just three months ago that he was fired by Boris Johnson and he announced plans to quit politics. But I’m pleased he’s back, because he seemed to be a man on a mission last time around. […]

Hello. Private “Rent 2 Rent” operators generally have a bad reputation, there are a lot of operators that have little or no experience, and have simply been “sold” the idea on a training course. Many have little or no capital to back them up when things go wrong, and there’s very little to stop them […]

The above act comes into force on the 31st January 2023. Before that date, all entities including Companies and Trusts, must register with the UK government the details of all Shareholders and Officers involved in running the overseas entity. There are severe penalties for failure to register by the stated date. The government has as […]